The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Petunia plant that originated from the crossing a seedling called ‘5Pt-30-1’ as female parent and a wild type Petunia plant named ‘1796’ as male parent that is native to Brazil.
The Petunia is a very popular plant that is used for flower bedding and potting in the summer season. There are only a few Petunia varieties which do not have an upright growth habit and which have a high resistance to rain, heat, and diseases. The Petunia plants such as ‘Revolution Purple Pink’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,915), ‘Revolution Brilliant Pink’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,914), ‘Revolution Brilliant Pink-Mini’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,899), and ‘Revolution Blue Vein’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,322)) are decumbent type plants having long stems, a low plant height, abundant branching, and a high resistance to heat, rain and disease. However, there are only a few Petunia varieties having a great profusion of flowers, softly colored flower petals and a high resistance to rain, heat, and diseases. Accordingly, this invention is aimed at obtaining a new Petunia variety having vivid reddish-purple petals with a light pink center together with the above features.
The ‘5Pt-30-1’ female parent is a strain selected in Japan from a seedling named ‘Baccarat Pink’ (non-patented in the United States).
In April 1998, crossing of ‘5Pt-30-1’ as female parent and ‘1796’ as pollen parent was conducted at the Omi R&D Center, Flower Division of Suntory Ltd. In January 1999, 120 seedlings were obtained from that crossing. These seedlings were grown in pots in glasshouses and were evaluated. One new variety was selected in view of its decumbent growth habit and its attractive flower color. That seedling was propagated by the use of cuttings from July 1999, and a further evaluation was carried out by flower potting and bedding in March 2000, at the Omi R&D Center, Flower Division of Suntory Ltd. The botanical characteristics of that plant were then examined, using the similar varieties ‘Revolution Pink-Mini’ and ‘Sunpapi’ (non-patented in the United States) for comparison. As a result, it was concluded that this Petunia plant is distinguishable from all other varieties, whose existence is known to us, and is uniform and stable in its characteristics. The new variety of Petunia plant of the present invention was named ‘Sunpimo’.
In the following description, the color-coding is in accordance with The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England. A color chart based on The Japan Color Standard for Horticultural Plants (J.H.S. Color Chart) is also added for reference.
The main botanical characteristics of the ‘5Pt-30-1’ female parent are as follows:    Plant:                                Growth habit.—Medium.            Plant height.—Approximately 15.5 cm.            Spreading area of plant.—Somewhat small.            Blooming period.—April to July in the southern Kanto area, Japan.                            Stem:                                Length.—Approximately 13.5 cm.            Thickness.—Main stem approximately 2.0 mm.            Pubescence.—Normal.            Branching.—Medium.            Length of internode.—Approximately 2.5 cm.            Color.—Light yellow-green (R.H.S. 145C, J.H.S. 3503).                            Leaf:                                Shape.—Elliptic. The apex shape is acute, and the base shape is attenuate.            Length.—Approximately 3.8 cm.            Width.—Approximately 2.0 cm.            Color.—Upper-side is dark olive-green (R.H.S. 137A, J.H.S. 3707). Lower-side is moderate yellow-green (R.H.S. 147B, J.H.S. 3513).            Pubescence.—Sparse.                            Flower:                                Facing direction.—Upward.            Type.—Single.            Shape.—Funnel-shaped, with five fissures.            Shape of petal tip.—Round.            Lobation.—Shallow.            Waviness of petal.—Somewhat weak.            Diameter.—Approximately 5.5 cm.            Color.—Petal: vivid reddish-purple (R.H.S. 74A, J.H.S. 9207) with pale purplish-pink center (R.H.S. 65D, J.H.S. 8902). Base color of the corolla throat: yellowish-white (R.H.S. 1D, J.H.S. 3102). Outside color of the corolla tube: yellowish-white (R.H.S. 1D, J.H.S. 3101).            Reproductive organs.—1 normal pistil and 5 normal stamens. Color of pistil is vivid yellow-green (R.H.S. 144B, J.H.S. 3506). Color of stamens is yellowish-white (R.H.S. 155D, J.H.S. 2501).            Peduncle.—Approximately 1.3 mm in thickness, and approximately 2.0 cm in length.            Physiological and ecological characteristics.—Strong resistance to cold, rain, pests and disease. Moderate resistance to heat.                        
The main botanical characteristics of the ‘1796’ male parent are as follows:    Plant:                                Growth habit.—Decumbent.            Plant height.—Approximately 5.5 cm.            Spreading area of plant.—Large.            Blooming period.—May to August in the southern Kanto area, Japan.                            Stem:                                Length.—Approximately 16.0 cm.            Thickness.—Approximately 1.5 mm.            Pubescence.—Normal.            Branching.—Abundant.            Length of internode.—Approximately 1.5 cm.            Color.—Light yellow-green (R.H.S. 145C, J.H.S. 3503).                            Leaf:                                Shape.—Elliptic. The apex is acute, and the base is attenuate.            Length.—Approximately 2.7 cm.            Width.—Approximately 1.7 cm.            Color.—Upper-side is strong yellow-green (R.H.S. 143A, J.H.S. 3711). Lower-side is moderate yellow-green (R.H.S. 147B, J.H.S. 3513).            Pubescence.—Sparse.                            Flower:                                Facing direction.—Slanted upward.            Type.—Single.            Shape.—Funnel-shaped, with five fissures.            Shape of petal tip.—Round.            Lobation.—Shallow.            Waviness of petal.—Weak.            Diameter.—Approximately 4.1 cm.            Color.—Petal: vivid reddish-purple (R.H.S. 74B, J.H.S. 9206). Base of the corolla; throat: yellowish-white (R.H.S. 159D, J.H.S. 1901). Outside of the corolla tube: yellowish-white (R.H.S. 159D, J.H.S. 1901).            Reproductive organs.—1 normal pistil and 5 normal stamens. Color of pistil is vivid yellow-green (R.H.S. 144B, J.H.S. 3506). Color of the stamens is yellowish-white (R.H.S. 155D, J.H.S. 2501).            Peduncle.—Approximately 1.1 mm in thickness, and approximately 1.8 cm in length.            Physiological and ecological characteristics.—Moderate resistance to pests. Strong resistance to rain, cold, heat and diseases.                        
The main botanical characteristics of the similar ‘Revolution Pink-Mini’ variety used for comparison are as follows:    Plant:                                Growth habit.—Decumbent.            Plant height.—Approximately 20 cm.            Spreading area of plant.—Large.            Blooming period.—May to August in the southern Kanto area, Japan.                            Stem:                                Length.—Approximately 15 cm.            Thickness.—Main stem is approximately 2.5 mm.            Pubescence.—Normal.            Branching.—Abundant.            Length of internode.—Approximately 2.0 cm.            Color.—Light yellow-green (R.H.S. 145C, J.H.S. 3503).                            Leaf:                                Shape.—Elliptic. The apex shape is acute, and the base shape is attenuate.            Length.—Approximately 5.0 cm.            Width.—Approximately 3.0 cm.            Color.—Upper-side is dark olive green (R.H.S. 137A, J.H.S. 3509). Lower-side is moderate yellow-green (R.H.S. 147B, J.H.S. 3513).            Pubescence.—Normal.                            Flower:                                Facing direction.—Slanted upward.            Type.—Single.            Shape.—Funnel-shaped, with five fissures.            Shape of petal tip.—Round.            Lobation.—Shallow.            Waviness of petal.—Weak.            Diameter.—Approximately 4.5 cm.            Color.—Petal: Vivid reddish-purple (R.H.S. 71D, J.H.S. 9206). Base of the corolla throat is pinkish-white (R.H.S. 69D, J.H.S. 9201). Outside of the corolla tube is strong purplish-pink (R.H.S. 73B, J.H.S. 9204).            Reproductive organs.—1 normal pistil and 5 normal stamens. Color of pistil is vivid yellow-green (R.H.S. 144B, J.H.S. 3506). Color of the stamens is yellowish-white (R.H.S. 155D, J.H.S. 2501).            Peduncle.—Approximately 1.0 mm in thickness, and approximately 2.0 cm in length.            Physiological and ecological characteristics.—Strong resistance to cold, heat, rain and diseases. Moderate resistance to pests.                        
The main botanical characteristics of the similar ‘Sunpapi’ variety used for comparison are as follows:    Plant:                                Growth habit.—Decumbent.            Plant height.—Approximately 11.5 cm.            Spreading area of plant.—Large.            Blooming period.—April to September in the southern Kanto area, Japan.                            Stem:                                Length.—Approximately 18.0 cm.            Thickness.—Main stem approximately 3.2 mm.            Pubescence.—Normal.            Branching.—Many.            Length of internode.—Approximately 2.2 cm.            Color.—Light yellow-green (R.H.S. 145C, J.H.S. 3503).                            Leaf:                                Shape.—Lanceolate. The apex is acute, and the base is attenuate.            Length.—Approximately 6.1 cm.            Width.—Approximately 2.7 cm.            Color.—Upper-side is dark olive-green (R.H.S. 137A, J.H.S. 3707). Lower-side is moderate yellow-green (R.H.S. 147B, J.H.S. 3513).            Pubescence.—Normal.                            Flower:                                Facing direction.—Slanted upward.            Type.—Single.            Shape.—Funnel-shaped, with five fissures.            Shape of petal tip.—Obtuse.            Lobation.—Shallow.            Waviness of petal.—Weak.            Diameter.—Approximately 6 cm.            Color.—Petal: deep purplish-pink (R.H.S. 68B, J.H.S. 9205). Base of the corolla throat: yellowish-white (R.H.S. 159D, J.H.S. 1901). Outside of the corolla tube: yellowish-white (R.H.S. 159D, J.H.S. 1901).            Reproductive organs.—1 normal pistil and 5 normal stamens. Color of pistil is vivid yellow-green (R.H.S. 144B, J.H.S. 3506). Color of the stamens is yellowish-white (R.H.S. 155D, J.H.S. 2501).            Peduncle.—Approximately 1.4 mm in thickness, and approximately 1.8 cm in length.            Physiological and ecological characteristics.—Strong resistance to cold, heat, rain and diseases. Moderate resistance to pests.                        